Apple is featuring apps from WWDC 2018 scholarship winners in a special editorial piece in the Today tab of the iOS 11 App Store. It’s a cool gesture that gives some exposure to apps from upcoming developers. The feature highlights scholarship winners from various regions, with a list of names and links to their apps already on the App Store.

There are usually a couple hundred scholarship places given out at each WWDC, and this list only includes about twenty names. It’s not clear how Apple chose which individuals made the list. The feature will be rolling out to the App Store front page, worldwide, from tomorrow (June 2nd).

To qualify as a WWDC scholar, you have to be 13 years or older, and enrolled in an accredited educational institution or a member of a STEM organization. Potential applicants then had to submit a Swift playground demonstrating their proficiency with iOS programming in addition to essay answers.

A maximum of 350 places were on offer, but Apple does not guarantee that it will allocate all places. Scholars receive free attendance to the WWDC 2018 conference, and free lodging for the week. Additional perks include a special meetup on the Sunday before the Monday keynote, often including meet-and-greets with Apple executives.

As an interesting aside on the state of the App Store economy, all apps in the feature are free to download with the exception of a single $0.99 paid upfront app.

You can see all the apps made by scholars featured by opening this link to the App Store page on your iOS 11 iPhone or iPad.

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